WHO confirms seven Andes hantavirus cases among MV Hondius passengers
Science and data reviewer
Timestamp shown in UTC unless otherwise indicated.
WHO issued a short but sharp update on the MV Hondius outbreak. As of May 11, seven Andes hantavirus cases had been confirmed among passengers.
The wider outbreak count rose to nine. But two of those cases are still listed as suspected.
What changed in the WHO update
The new count followed a report from France. A passenger evacuated from the ship tested positive there.
After that result, WHO revised the overall picture. The number of lab-confirmed cases increased to seven.
What is known about the suspected cases
Two more cases are still considered probable. One of them is believed to be the first infection in this chain.
That person died before doctors could run a test. Because of that, the case was not included in the confirmed total.
Even this brief WHO update lands hard - three people are already dead, and the full picture is still not closed.
Key outbreak figures
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Confirmed cases | 7 |
| Total recorded cases | 9 |
| Suspected cases | 2 |
| Deaths | 3 |
- 7 confirmed cases
- 9 total recorded cases
- 2 cases remain suspected
- 3 people have died
At this stage, the story is clearly not over. And the main risk now is not panic, but delayed confirmation of more cases.
The incubation period is long. That means the outbreak totals may still change.